Sword Swallower
by cherryvvoid
Summary: Her first mistake was seeing people who weren't there, her second was realizing that they weren't people, and her third was acknowledging either of those facts. It was only too sad that her abnormalities didn't end there - being able to wield other peoples zanpakutos was another problem all together. Especially since that shouldn't be possible. Able to see bankai spirits!SI-OC.
1. The Actual Fuck?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach but I own Issa.**

* * *

One thing Issa was sure of was that she was dead - and no she was not going crazy - but it seemed as if the rest of the world didn't catch wind of her funeral.

Standing in the middle of a crowded road, she couldn't help but feel as if something had gone _horribly_ wrong. And if she was going to go with her gut instinct, she would be entirely right.

" _Move!_ " A voice crowed and she tensed at the harshness of the tone. " _Move out the way girl!_ "

Jumping into action at the venom in the tone, she jerked to the left before she was shoved to the right.

Gritting her teeth she whirled around to hiss angrily at the offender - because who the _hell_ did they think they were? - when she realized that the man standing in front of her was as tall as a tower and twice as thick.

Or rather that _she_ was as short as an ant.

Startled by the size difference she stared down at herself, grabbed at the white dress like thing that she was wearing - _whose damn clothes were these anyways?_ \- and nearly had a conniption when she saw how fucking _small_ she was.

And not small as in lacking height, but small as in miniature, pint sized, tiny.

 _Like she had been when she had gone to grade school_.

The rough voice barked at her again as she jumped before looking back up, and this time she _really_ looked at him.

He was tall - but not as looming as she had originally perceived. He was thick - but not as wide as she had first seen.

He was wearing a black sort of body suit thing that looked like it belonged on the set of an old timey Asian drama with sword - _shit dude was strapped but why in the world with that?_ \- sitting to his hip, and his face was broad and harsh. But now that she looked a little while longer, she could feel her jack hammering heart slow down a few paces as something inside her settled down.

 _Rule number one of surviving life on the street_ , she thought to herself in dark humor, _a second look at something threatening could either make or break a situation_.

"Oi," The man growled as his eyes flashed dangerously and his hand fingered his - _her eyes glanced downwards for a split second_ \- sword pommel. "I told you to watch where you're going, _brat_."

Shrinking back - because all her time in a gang taught her to play her cards right and she wasn't a damn fool - Issa lowered her head and shuffled in place.

"I'm - I'm sorry sir." She stammered artfully, already too used to weaseling her way out of being punished by authority figures. "It w-won't happen again - I _swear_!"

The man's lip curled and Issa made sure to hunch her shoulders in response - men loved to feel in control and terrifying.

"Hmph," He grunted as he turned on his heel. "see to it."

Issa didn't waste a moment in waiting before she turned tailed and scurried away - and she kept scurrying until she reached an alleyway shrouded in dead silence.

Throwing herself in the cut, she moved to crouch behind a pile of garbage as she huffed and puffed in exertion.

"What the fuck?" She said lowly as she stared down at her pudgy brown hands. " _What the actual fuck_?"

She had _died_! She had been _shot_! And if being shot that many times resulted in turning into a young kid again, then so many of her fellow gang members would have been still kicking!

Swallowing a bit, she pinched at the skin of her thigh and let out a little yelp at the flare of sharp pain it caused.

Glaring down at her hand - damn her nails were sharp - she rubbed at the bruising skin.

"Okay," She growled. "so dreaming is ruled _all_ the way the _fuck_ out."

Burying her head in her hands, she groaned as loudly as she could dare in the cover of the ally and _mourned_.

 _For everything._

 _ **Hard**_.

"Oh god," She moaned out as her eyes seemed to burn and pulse at the same time. "what sort of fresh hell have I gotten myself into _this_ time."

* * *

 **This character is gonna get her start with the seedy underground because the best way she knows how to survive is in a gang considering she's an ex-gang member.**

 **So many other Bleach SI-OC's who start off in the soul society either end up falling directly into the soul reaper's hands or they work to enter the soul reaper school. So I was wondering what would happen if someone was on the good side of the gangs there and had to do horrible shit to stay alive?**

 **Thus Issa was born and she looks exactly like the story cover only with more tattoos.**

 **Also the idea about seeing zanpakuto spirits came from a cywscross story I read one time. But the fact that she can wield any one she wants is all me. But have faith that just because she can use any sword doesn't mean she'll know how to work them or be able to make them work with her.**

 **In fact it very well puts her in danger lol, because if someone thinks they share a sword with her they might try to kill Issa.**

 **To sort of balance it, she'll never have her own sword.**

 **If you have questions please review and I'll pm you.**


	2. Sleight Of Hand

So as it turned out, she had gotten herself thrown into a motherfucking _anime_ \- which she had found out a few days into her now month and a half long stay in this hell hole.

And by god, she was lucky she was in one of the few she had actually watched - getting needled by the gang for watching _cartoons_ had been beating the shit out of her pride especially since she very well fucking _killed_ people. Issa deserved her guilty pleasures for all she did for her friends.

Scowling at the world from the alleyway she had made her little headquarters, Issa grimaced at the sight of goddamn Soul Reapers - _flippin' Shinigami!_ \- and their weirdly dressed compatriots walking around the Rukongai like they were the pimps and everyone else were the whores.

It was annoying yet she couldn't admit that there wasn't an appeal there.

If Issa had enough patient to handle corrupt authority and go through the traditional education, then she would _definitely_ want to be one of them - after all they had the most power here currently.

That was until the Quincy came and fucked them all up the ass with their bows and arrows - and other powers that Issa thought didn't align with what she assumed the Quincy should be able to do but eh.

Snorting quietly to herself, the now young child ran a hand through her hair and frowned once again when she caught sight of the wine colored tresses covering her scalp.

She didn't know what exactly happened but her normally brown hair had assumed the color of the dye she had been wearing when she had been killed - and her eyes took after the matching contacts.

Which looked cool but ultimately was bad for business.

Issa didn't want to be caught out because she had a strange hair color, people noticed shit like that and rule number one of living on the streets dictated that one didn't draw attention to themselves unless they could handle it.

And she, in the form of maybe seven or eight year old, couldn't handle a shot of _raspberry schnapps_ let alone a _confrontation_.

Which was why she had filched a rusty pair of scissors off of one of the more gullible and soft hearted old women she had met more up near the ritzy districts. To her surprise the lady had offered for Issa to _stay_ with her, which the girl thought was foolhardy because although she was a child she might not be _innocent_ and the old broad's son thought so too.

Which lead to him explicitly threatening her against the idea.

So naturally Issa turned her down and made off with a few offered things and some stuff she had chosen to take instead.

Like the scissors, which she had used to chop her hair off as close to her scalp as she could

Consequently it was uneven in some places and looked a right mess but now that her hair was cropped close she looked more masculine - which was a bonus.

No one wanted to be a little ass girl out here on the streets, she knew what happened to them by experience. Which was why she'd rather be a little boy, even if young males had their own problems they had to face.

Sighing to herself as her stomach gave a faint twinge, Issa knew she'd soon start feeling hunger and she had long since understood what that meant.

She had some spiritual pressure.

Now that revelation could be good or bad depending on how she spun it, but first things first Issa needed to figure out how to suppress it before it got noticeable. She couldn't meditate for shit but she could go deep into thought and was able to visualize anything she put her mind towards. Which was something she would do once she had a safe enough place to stay in.

Brushing off her dirty white dress thing and pants - yukata she realized it was - Issa plastered a placid yet open expression on her face as she entered the busy crowds.

Pickpocketing was easier in these kinds of situations anyways.

The third day after waking up here hungry and irritated, Issa knew she would need to figure out a way to sustain herself and getting a job wasn't going to be impossible.

Who in the _world_ would hire a damn child when there were more capable people out there? Pity and sympathy only went so far and capability was money and time.

So in turn she had taken to using her priorly acquired skills to steal - never too much and never from people she wasn't sure she could pickpocket.

She had started doing finger stretches to enhance their flexibility so she could deftly alleviate wallets and coin purses with ease and she had dedicated loads of time to learning the twist and turns of her part of the Rukongai. She practiced running them constantly and had hiding places specifically picked out in case she needed to lay low.

Issa was taking no chances in being caught and so far she hadn't been, and she would _keep_ it that way.

Smiling a bit as she delicately snatched up a few coins - _she never took more than she needed for the day to play it safe_ \- from the pocket of a fellow commoner - _no honor among thieves down here_ \- and she had enough to head up towards the better parts of the Rukongai.

Sadly she still didn't know the names of the local districts but she would learn soon enough, it was just that she had more important shit on her mind than that.

Heading back to another ally of hers - not her headquarters one though, she knew better than to have only a single base - she took multiple twists and turns and doubled back as many times as she dared, just in case she was being trailed.

Sighing a bit as she bent down next to a trash can and pushed it out of the way, Issa dug her fingers into one of the stones pushed into the ground and pulled it up - revealing the hollowed out insides.

Reaching down Issa picked up the dark bundle and shoved it down her waistband to rest between her legs, under her crotch, and on the seat of her pants.

She was lucky these trousers were baggy enough to hide her extra load.

Carefully the young girl realigned the rock and pulled the trash can back over it before she took some back alleyways towards the so called ritzy part of the Rukongai. It wasn't where the nobles stayed or even the Shinigami but it was where the commoners who weren't dying of sickness, starvation, or murder lived their lives.

It wasn't the best but it was better than the rest.

Breathing heavy due to the speed and distance at which she ran - the nicer part a distance away from where she stayed - Issa ducked into a shoddy building, she quickly located the bathroom before waving at the bar man - whom of which she had a symbiotic relationship with. She had helped clean here a few times for free and in return the owner allowed her to use their facilities whenever she came up here.

Issa knew how to make connections and use them well.

Ducking into the washroom, she looked at the almost primitive water tap and basin - sink - before she stripped out of her dirtied white outfit and looked into the mirror hanging across from her.

Her hair was still uneven but its unruly look could be fixed by slicking it back with some water to maintain a look of civility. Her skin had smudges of dirt on it - which she scrubbed off with her hand, and her nails were brown underneath - to which she corrected by cleaning with her teeth. Spitting out the dirt in her mouth into the toilet, Issa carefully folded her dirty clothes and set them to the side before she picked up the black cloth bundle.

Untying its ends Issa smiled as she held up a pair of black pants, a matching t-shirt, and like colored sandals - courtesy of the sweet, easily swindled old lady she had met earlier on. Since she had turned the grandma down, the woman had insisted Issa have a clean change of clothes with her, which she certainly wasn't going to object to.

Putting them on, she grinned at herself in the mirror as she realized how much more _respectable_ she looked. Placing her other clothes on top of each other, she stuck them in the cupboard and was thankful that she was using the employee bathroom - else her clothes probably would have been stolen the first time she had done this.

Tying the cloth over her hair like a bandana - to hide her noticeable hair - she exited the bathroom with another wave to the barkeep. Now clad in her other 'persona' Issa entered the better part of the Rukongai with confidence. Nothing like a pair of

Nothing like a pair of well made clothes to make a person feel like a million bucks, which was why she couldn't wear these clothes anywhere but up here because they would definitely rob her ass if they saw her sporting shit like this around.

People who had nice things but couldn't defend themselves, lost their nice things the very same day down in the lesser parts of the Rukongai.

Issa came here to get food every three days as was per her limit because her part of the Rukongai didn't sell much food. Not to mention the people that did were definitely spies for the local underworld in order to scout for people who were hungry because that meant they had spiritual pressure.

Issa knew that much from her days of watching the people who begged for food disappear and never return.

Which was why she couldn't eat down there and had to travel all the way up here.

And now that she looked like she wasn't a common little shit, service would come to her easier. After all, everyone preferred to help people who didn't look like beggars or as if they had stolen the money they were using.

And rest assured she stole it.

Making her way to the closest vendor as always - because the less time she spent here the better - Issa immediately smiled at the suspicious man who was just leaving his shift.

And it wasn't just to set herself up a friendly young one, no it was to subtly show off how white and straight her teeth were because the people who had white and straight teeth were people who could afford the care.

Assumptions made as ass out of them and her, but if they were in her favor then that was all the better.

And considering the suspect look he was giving her waned because of how put together she looked, Issa counted this assumption as a win.

Watching the man walk away, another familiar one took his place and she inwardly smirked, satisfied with the change.

" _Hi_." She chirped, but not too loudly because she didn't want oversell her 'I'm a good kid' pitch. "Is it ok for me to buy two onigiri?"

Issa gestured using three fingers and she was glad she looked younger than she was.

The vendor's eyes softened minutely, not enough to catch if she wasn't looking for it and she was.

This was the same vendor she had been going to for as long as she had been traveling to get her food and he liked her.

Playing the sweet card was easy when the person she was playing was likable.

"Of course Sen-chan." The older man rumbled as he bagged her desired treats with a little something extra and she grinned brightly. "That will be three ryo."

Humming to herself she handed over the requested amount with a smile.

"Thank you Oribahara-san!" Issa thanked - genuinely for once before she bowed and scurried away.

One thing that was universal in all parts of the Rukongai no matter how ritzy, was that people didn't ask why a kid as young as her was out on her own - and that was how she liked it.

And as she made her way to the bar to sit off in one of the corners, she nodded happily at the sight of an extra taiyaki sitting near her rice balls and realized this was how she liked it too.

* * *

 **I wanted to establish Issa as street savvy and smart but also somewhat amoral. She knows the street and how to play people to her tune and she's been through some shit.**

 **I skipped her having an epic breakdown because her character is about her hustle and surviving and flipping her shit over something she can change isn't helpful. Issa is more of a click your teeth and bear it type of person. That doesn't mean she didn't grieve or get sad but that she had shit to do.**

 **Please review.**


	3. Aladdin

Issa was once again thanked her father for teaching her Japanese, else she would have had a hard ass time navigating her new life because although some smatterings of other languages were spoken here - the former one seemed to win out as the majority.

Ruffling her growing hair - it was in need of a trim soon - the young girl glanced at the small family making their way through the streets and for the first time since being here for about four months, thought about her own blood relations.

Her mother had been a black woman named Sasha Almanor from the mean streets of Chicago who gone off to college as a first generation graduate and met an international study abroad student from Japan.

Long story short, they fell in love, boned, had her and Matsushima Kei decided to stay in the US instead of returning home to his family and taking over whatever multi-million business organization they had brewing over there. Which was kinda stupid in her opinion - even though he stayed for her mother and her - but love made people do crazy things.

Like _herself_ for example but that would be explained a little later.

Naturally, the Matsushima weren't too happy about the change in plans since their most beloved heir and scion decided to run off with some urchin - but there wasn't much they could do besides cut him off of the money supply.

And considering her father had been engaged to the daughter of another wealthy family didn't help the situation any.

Also yes, she knew her parent's love story was some shit straight out of a fucking romance movie but it didn't make it any less true.

Originally the plan was for Issa to follow in her parent's footsteps and go off to school like they did. But sadly, life was a bitch and both her mother and her father died in a car crash that left only Issa alive - barely.

Coincidently it all happened because they were arguing on the phone with Kei's parents who wanted him to ditch his family and come back home.

The assholes.

The aftermath left Issa an orphan and she fell into the care of her grandfather since her father's family didn't wanna touch her with a ten-foot fucking pole. Which was fine by her because fuck them.

Growing up a half black half Asian kid in the bowels of Chicago was an experience.

Half the time she didn't know what crowd she was supposed to roll with considering she looked more like her mother until they saw the way her eyes tilted - which was a feature that came more from her father than Sasha. But nevertheless, she found her niche hanging out with what little family she still had left.

Issa hadn't exactly meant to fall into crime but when her grandfather - _who had picked her up and held when all she wanted was to die with her parents_ \- needed financial help to keep open the gym he had owned for literal generations, Issa knew she couldn't just sit there and wait.

Especially since she had spent a majority of her time in there learning how to kickbox and kick ass since she was six, and so she put away her school books and picked up weapons and dark hoodies.

And at the age of twelve age, Issa robbed her first person and scored almost two hundred bucks. But the reason someone would be walking around Chicago with that much cash on them was beyond her, they were basically _asking_ for it.

Naturally, from there it all escalated until she had enough for her grandfather to stay open and for her have a record a mile long, much to the disappointment of old man Almanor but he didn't need to like it.

As long as he was okay then so was she.

But not to be misunderstood, just because she started off in crime for noble reasons didn't mean she _stayed_ for noble reasons. Issa found out that she was good at being a criminal, more so than she was at school work because she could use her intelligence to her _own_ personal advantage instead of for prestige.

And college.

God fuck college, she took some classes later on to try it out but it was bullshit in her opinion.

Fast forward - _or maybe rewind because she had been talking about university_ \- a bit and her police rapport earned her the credentials she needed to join the up and coming gang in the area.

Sighing to herself, Issa shook her head and glanced at the passersby. Her life hadn't been easy but it had been hers and so she loved it as much as she was able.

And if she had anything to say about it, she'd love this one just the same - with greedy hands, bloody grins, and late nights with people she could trust. Which was exactly what she was going to start looking for because the best way to get close to a gang was to quite literally grow up in one.

Issa was hoping to be recruited.

She hadn't done much to be noticed yet, she didn't steal beyond personal need and nothing that would be missed so no one had anything to develop interest in. Which meant she needed to be known for something after all that's how it worked when she had wanted to join Southside.

But the real question was, what did she want to be her specialty because it would follow her for likely the rest of her career.

It couldn't be killing people since it wouldn't be as easy as pulling a trigger. The only weapons she had seen here were the ones that required being all up and personal and she couldn't throw a knife for shit. Not to mention despite having a body count, usually she killed in retaliation or in defense and she doubted that she could kill someone with her body like this.

Issa supposed she could either go into smuggling or thievery since she was already doing the latter and had done the former when she had been alive. She didn't have any problems peddling drugs or other illegal things to people, the only thing Issa would have to watch out for was ending up dead because she had seen or heard too much.

And with stealing, she just had to get more creative and in shape - which she had thankfully started to do a month back once she got into the swing of things.

Issa still remembered the exercises her grandfather put her through and she could mimic some of them, the other ones that she couldn't pull off would have to wait until she put on some more muscle and height. Running around the Rukongai gave her great cardio and the standard push-ups, crunches, and lunges were nice building blocks - all of which she made sure to do in seclusion near the rivers.

Issa had started being able sense the spiritual pressure of people - not very well mind you - but well enough to at least get an uneasy feeling when people neared her.

Which gave her some weird bouts of anxiety when she ended up focusing hard on something and getting sneaked up on, but she figured it was a fair tradeoff for an internal alarm system.

But back to the matter at hand, she had to pick a skill and be recognized for it and she also had to be smart about how she did it.

And stealing was the best option really because she needed contacts to be a smuggler but thievery was freelance.

Issa had to pick someone impressive enough to steal from but not dangerous enough to be a problem if she succeeded. And frankly, she didn't know who that person was.

Grumbling to herself Issa was resigned to the thought of having to do more reconnaissance in district 77 - yeah she knew where she was now - and sighed.

She couldn't implement her plan if she didn't even _have_ a plan to begin with.

Crime life back home had never been this complicated.

* * *

 **Okay so Issa has been here for four months now and you guys hear more about her past!**

 **I'm pretty sure you guys can guess what Issa has been doing for those four months but if you're confused she was figuring out some stuff about the criminal gangs around town and trying to keep her scrawny butt alive and functioning lol.**

 **Her findings about the gangs will be talked about next chapter.**

 **I like Issa so far, she's becoming a fav quickly lol.**


	4. I Need Help N Thats Why I Havent Updated

hi lads, im cherryvvoid and lately ive been really absent from and i really need help.

Ive been kicked out of home, dropped out of college bc I cant afford it. My laptop broke. Me and my mom fought and she kicked me out so Im living in an apartment i used the last of my savings to get. I had to quit my job bc my old friends i stayed with when i got kicked out are stalking and harassing me so I cant go back (the girlfriend worked next door to the job I quit). i dont have wifi where im at yet and i only have my phone to write from since my laptop broke (which is another reason I haven't been able to write) and im really stressed out lol!

my dad isnt any help since he had his new child he always wanted so thats a dead end and I havent ever been close to anyone else sadly.

And I know its alot to ask of you guys especially when I haven't been updating but this is the only platform where I really have followers or anyone to listen. if any of you are kind enough to donate literally anything to this gofundme I made (this is a last ditch effort, been stressing for months guys) it would help me out so so sooo much!

 **Please no one say anything mean i beg you, im already not feeling great about myself so please be kind! you can unfollow me if youd like, I dont mind just please be nice!** (also i just picked a random goal number bc i didnt know we had to do that!)

 _ **IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE THE LINK IS ON MY PROFILE IN MY BIO. I REPEAT THE LINK TO HELP ME OUT IS IN MY BIO.**_

once again, please be kind!

ill try to drop the actual link below but if it doesnt work im really sorry lads!

www . gofundme . com. / ily-ladstysmalso-we-have-to-choose-a-goal

(((im also going to post this to all my stories, thank you for being so understanding)))


	5. The Profile Link Is Up N Working

the profile link to the gofundme to help me is on my profile now! im posting another time to let ppl know! its not a link tho! you have to cooy n paste!


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